Cerebral ischemic insult is one of the most clinically significant conditions leading to irreversible brain cell damage and death. Causes of cerebral ischemia include shock, cardiac arrest, head trauma and stroke. All of the aforementioned medical conditions result in an interruption or significant decrease in the flow of blood to parts of the brain. The continued flow of blood, as a life sustaining source of oxygen and glucose, is necessary to maintain normal brain function. Any time the flow of blood to the brain is interrupted for any length of time there is the danger that ischemic brain cell damage will occur.
Of all the causes of cerebral ischemia the one of greatest concern, because of its relative high incidence of occurrence, is stroke. Ischemic stroke may be due to many causes, though the main cause is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis results in the inside circumference of an artery gradually becoming smaller, thereby restricting the flow of blood. Formation of a clot in an artery leading to the brain or migration of a blood clot from other areas is another cause which obstructs the flow of blood.
It had been thought that an interruption in the flow of blood to a specific area of the brain would cause permanent brain damage if not corrected within minutes. For those victims who had not received any warning signs, a stroke or other cerebrovascular insult with its resultant damaging effects could not be prevented. That is, permanent brain damage with a consequent loss of physical and mental function was viewed as unavoidable following a stroke. It was primarily because of this belief that most efforts connected with a study of stroke centered on how to prevent a stroke from occurring and how to rehabilitate a stroke victim through physical therapy. Very little research is known which has as its object the early treatment of a stroke victim to prevent or at least alleviate brain damage early in the course of a stroke.
There is a definite need for a treatment to prevent brain damage in ischemic insult victims. Necessarily, such a treatment would have to be effective shortly after administration before irreversible damage occurred. Additionally, there is a need to pre-treat a patient who has an increased chance of suffering a stroke in the near future. For example, a known possible consequence of surgery on the carotid artery to remove plaque formation is that a stroke may occur. A pretreatment of the patient prior to surgery which would alleviate or eliminate any brain damage from a subsequent stroke would be desired.
There has now been discovered a method whereby a victim or possible victim of a stroke or other cause of cerebral ischemia can be treated to prevent the occurrence of permanent brain damage. This treatment of the victim has been found to safely and effectively alleviate the debilitating effects of brain cell damage.